This phrase from Shakespeare describes me to a tee lately! I don't know what it is.... but as far as my house goes... I'm in a small spell of discontent. I hate to admit that... because I know that I should be just grateful to have a house! Very true!
I'm not sure if it's having just used every last cent on our adoption, and finally having that complete that makes me want to think about home projects. Maybe it's that it is still considered winter here... and while we have been working on the yard, we can't really "Do" a whole lot yet either. It's not quite spring. I guess I should be grateful that I'm not back north where the planting always seemed to coincide with Mother's Day weekend. I'd have to wait awhile for that. At least March is right around the corner, and we can begin attacking some spring projects soon. One more month or so.......
I guess it's that feeling of inactivity... or knowing how many BIG projects this house needs, and knowing we don't have the money to do them. For instance, the siding needs to be replaced, and really so does the roof. The front porch needs to be sanded and repainted and the wood steps need to be tended to. What I'd really like to do is make them brick and the porch concrete, but that too is out of the budget. The garage doors need to be replaced and so does the front door! I would love to fence the yard, but as you know that is way too much money. I also would love to add onto this house, but again.... not now. Sigh... and that is just the outside of the house, I won't even go into the inside. See what I mean? Winter of Discontent. (Notice the word "winter")
My IRL friend posted here about Spring Fever on her blog, and how she is having trouble getting organized. She like me is great at having many ideas but not so good on imlementing them. Too many distractions......Maybe that is part of the problem for me too. With bringing the new little one into our home, I can't seem to get organized at all! Some of the systems that worked for us then, don't work now that we have a little one in the house. So, I have to create new ones.... but like I said I can't seem to catch up. And I consider myself a fairly organized person..... hmmmm.... I'm not sure what is up? If you've made it this far in my jumbled post... thank you.... but you really have too much time on your hands.... LOL! :-)
Pop on over to this post over at the Nester's place.... it really REALLY hit home to me. It's written way better than what I have posted here... but it addresses the discontent that I was rambling on about. Despite our lack of finances, I can still make our home beautiful. I can still remodel frugally. I KNOW I CAN! I can make the home that I have now, be the best that it can be for our family and the memories we will make here. So, I decided to see what things we can do outside that will beautify the house. Things we can do ourselves, that will really make a huge difference. I'll post those things in my next post, because the baby just woke up, and I need to get running!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Weekend Warrior
Today we begin another work weekend around our house. It's raining, so we'll primarily focus on the garage. I haven't been able to park in it for quite some time. Quite frankly you need to clear a path just to walk through it! So, the garage will be the focus today.
And about my fence.... I'm completely bummed out. Dh talked to a subcontractor at work, and guess what the estimate is for the fence? $19,000!!! Yeah, that's pretty much out of the picture. Dh called me and said, "Guess who won't be putting a fence in this year???" "Us....." :-( Oh well!
Gotta get moving on my day... I have bills to pay and checkbooks to balance and taxes to file as well!
And about my fence.... I'm completely bummed out. Dh talked to a subcontractor at work, and guess what the estimate is for the fence? $19,000!!! Yeah, that's pretty much out of the picture. Dh called me and said, "Guess who won't be putting a fence in this year???" "Us....." :-( Oh well!
Gotta get moving on my day... I have bills to pay and checkbooks to balance and taxes to file as well!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Spring Fever...
Yes, I have spring fever and it's a little early it seems! I seem to go in stages of home remodeling... mainly because of finances, although sometimes it's because I'm just uninspired.
The last 7 months have been b-u-s-y.... but not on our home renovations. Nope we've added a little one to our family, and we are finally beginning to settle in. Add to that it's starting to feel like spring here in the south, and that typically gets me antsy to start some kind of project or other.
My mind goes in a bunch of directions when I think what we would like to work on. We've been prepping for the spring by cutting back our beautiful shrub roses, and all the rest of the landscaping. This weekend we'll be working on pruning the crape myrtles We opt for natural pruning not "crape murder" like so many like to do. Plus, I'll be taking clippers to the lyriope and cutting it way back for the spring. This year I'd like to have all the landscaped edged weeks before the mulch goes down. I like prepping it now little by little so we can enjoy the spring weather when it hits.
Jumping towards the top of my list this year is a fence. I so badly want to fence our yard! We have a large side yard that I'm always talking about how bad the grass is... or rather the dirt patches. Well not only is that a part of it's problem.... but it is also a magnet for dogs all over the neighborhood. I am so sick of people letting their dogs out and having them use our yard as some sort of a field or something. It's gross and we have kids playing out there all the time. Back north we used to have a dog, and we would have to do the dog poop pick up in our yard. Now we don't have a dog and I am ticked that I have to go and clean that up! Last week a dog marked it's spot on the slide to our swingset. Uh-huh.... seriously. (I'm sure he's not the only one who's done that...) Like I want my new little son sliding down that now. So you can see why a fence has jumped up the priority list.
I've been wanting to get a fence for awhile now and in my head I have a simple landscape design for around it... creating privacy for the side yard that it's never had before. My dh is going to talk to a fencing company that he knows through work so that they can give us an idea of the cost. etc. I'm not sure when we'll be able to afford it... but I'm hoping in a few months.
Also about that swingset, that is actually a priority higher than the fence! We actually will be rebuilding and fixing it ourselves. The fort part is good, but the rest of it is off of cinder blocks, so dh is going to actually get the swing set in the ground to stablilize it. A new swing beam with pressure treated wood, and a new A frame for the sides. We are planning on sanding and restaining the entire older part and staining the new build-on to match. Plus we'll be leveling the ground around the swingset and adding mulch or some sort of ground cover for the kids. Anyone recommend a good ground cover for a swingset? I'm not crazy about sand at all.... The swingset will be a project for the next couple of weeks.... right after the landscaping! That is a must for spring.... I see hours of pushing our little one on the swingset in my future!
Finally as my thoughts gravitate to the outside, they naturally go to the garden that I've always wanted to try to plant. I would SO love to try it this year! (Maybe after the fence goes in.) Can anyone recommend any good beginning gardening books? I have NO CLUE how to do this.. or even what I'd be doing. When I say beginner I really mean beginner!
Those are my thoughts as spring hits... I have a ton of ideas ruminating in my mind about the inside of our house... but realistically we'll be focusing on the outside for now. :-)
The last 7 months have been b-u-s-y.... but not on our home renovations. Nope we've added a little one to our family, and we are finally beginning to settle in. Add to that it's starting to feel like spring here in the south, and that typically gets me antsy to start some kind of project or other.
My mind goes in a bunch of directions when I think what we would like to work on. We've been prepping for the spring by cutting back our beautiful shrub roses, and all the rest of the landscaping. This weekend we'll be working on pruning the crape myrtles We opt for natural pruning not "crape murder" like so many like to do. Plus, I'll be taking clippers to the lyriope and cutting it way back for the spring. This year I'd like to have all the landscaped edged weeks before the mulch goes down. I like prepping it now little by little so we can enjoy the spring weather when it hits.
Jumping towards the top of my list this year is a fence. I so badly want to fence our yard! We have a large side yard that I'm always talking about how bad the grass is... or rather the dirt patches. Well not only is that a part of it's problem.... but it is also a magnet for dogs all over the neighborhood. I am so sick of people letting their dogs out and having them use our yard as some sort of a field or something. It's gross and we have kids playing out there all the time. Back north we used to have a dog, and we would have to do the dog poop pick up in our yard. Now we don't have a dog and I am ticked that I have to go and clean that up! Last week a dog marked it's spot on the slide to our swingset. Uh-huh.... seriously. (I'm sure he's not the only one who's done that...) Like I want my new little son sliding down that now. So you can see why a fence has jumped up the priority list.
I've been wanting to get a fence for awhile now and in my head I have a simple landscape design for around it... creating privacy for the side yard that it's never had before. My dh is going to talk to a fencing company that he knows through work so that they can give us an idea of the cost. etc. I'm not sure when we'll be able to afford it... but I'm hoping in a few months.
Also about that swingset, that is actually a priority higher than the fence! We actually will be rebuilding and fixing it ourselves. The fort part is good, but the rest of it is off of cinder blocks, so dh is going to actually get the swing set in the ground to stablilize it. A new swing beam with pressure treated wood, and a new A frame for the sides. We are planning on sanding and restaining the entire older part and staining the new build-on to match. Plus we'll be leveling the ground around the swingset and adding mulch or some sort of ground cover for the kids. Anyone recommend a good ground cover for a swingset? I'm not crazy about sand at all.... The swingset will be a project for the next couple of weeks.... right after the landscaping! That is a must for spring.... I see hours of pushing our little one on the swingset in my future!
Finally as my thoughts gravitate to the outside, they naturally go to the garden that I've always wanted to try to plant. I would SO love to try it this year! (Maybe after the fence goes in.) Can anyone recommend any good beginning gardening books? I have NO CLUE how to do this.. or even what I'd be doing. When I say beginner I really mean beginner!
Those are my thoughts as spring hits... I have a ton of ideas ruminating in my mind about the inside of our house... but realistically we'll be focusing on the outside for now. :-)
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